House of Fraser bosses are scrambling to secure the backing of furious landlords for the retailer’s radical store closure plan following a volley of criticism.

The department store chain - which has outlets at the Metrocentre and at Darlington and Middlesbrough - is seeking approval for a restructuring plan known as a Company Voluntary Agreement (CVA), which will allow it to shut stores and cut rents.

It has now emerged House of Fraser chiefs met with landlord representatives the day after a public backlash over the CVA proposals earlier this month.

Landlords were infuriated by the retailer’s proposal because it simultaneously announced an injection of capital from a new Chinese investor, the Hamleys owner C.banner.

They were outraged House of Fraser would argue it was financially distressed as a pretext for ditching its rent obligations, despite having won new backing from China.

At the crunch meeting, which was brokered by House of Fraser’s restructuring adviser KPMG, the retailer’s representatives expressed surprise at the strength of the response from landlords, and said they were keen to address any outstanding issues.

House of Fraser also explained it had not engaged landlords in discussions earlier, which is considered best practice when pursuing a CVA, because the rules of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange prevented it from making a formal announcement.

The discussions between the two sides have been described as constructive, but it is not known whether House of Fraser will arrange a further meeting to formally put its proposal to landlords, or whether the company will consider their concerns.